Signal apparatus.



C. WILLIAMSON.

SIGNAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION nun OUT Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

-2 SHEETS-"SHEET 1.

WITNESS ES:

O. WILLIAMSON. SIGNAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IILEDAWI 5, [911% 1,@78,978. Patented Nov. 18, 1913 2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

\VIDNESSES: m3

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CHESTER WILLIAMSON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFOiitLbIIA SIGNAL APPARATUS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

Application filed October 5, 1912. Serial No. 724,193.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHESTER WILLIAMSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and usev ful Improvements in Signal Apparatus, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a signal apparatus for street-cars, trains and the like.

It is the object of this invention to provide a signal apparatus which is particularly adapted for use on electrically operated streetcars and trains, by means of Which the passengers may signal to the motorman and conductor the streets or stations at which they desire to stop, and which is so constructed that the passengers may operate the signal at the moment of boarding the car, or at any time before the car reaches the desired destination. Another object is to provide a signal system for cars for indicating to the motorman and conductor the streets at which the passengers wish to alight, adapted to be operated by the passengers, and having means by which the passengers will be informed.

that the signal has been re .stered; and to provide means for indicating to the possenger when the desired stop has been reached. I

Other objects will appear hereinafter. The invention primarily resides -in'a pair of annunciators, disposed convenient to the motormans and conductors stations, having rosters thereon of the streets or stopping places on the linetraversed by the car, corresponding rosters accessible to the passengers, a selective mechanism arranged to be operated-by the passengers and operating in conjunction with an electrical circuit for actuating the annunciators, means for indicating to the passenger when his signal has been recorded by the annunciator, and means 0 erated by the motorman or conductor or signifying to the passengers when the streets recorded b the annunciators are reached and for in icating the succeeding streets or stations passed b the car. The invention also comprises etails of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in 'which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View of the invention, illustrating the electrical connections. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the annunciators with parts broken away. Fig.

3 isa view in front elevation of the selector and street roster for theuse of the passengers. Fig.4 is an enlarged sect-ion on the line XX of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail in perspective of the worm shaft and the detent therefor.

In carrying out the present invention I employ a series of corresponding rosters, indicated at 2 in the drawings, of streets or stations denoting the stopping points of the car or train to which the invention is applied. A number of these rosters 1s arranged at suitable intervals throughout the car convenient 'to the passengers, such for instance as on the mullions of the car windows adjacent to the seats, or, if desired, at the (point of entrance to the car, and correspon ing rosters 2 are disposed at the front and rear ends of the car near the motorman and conductor. 2' are shown as consisting of plates on which the names 3 of the streets or stations, here represented by letters .of the alphabet, are arranged in columns; the names of the streets being preferably formed of transparent material. The roster plates 2 and'2 are removably mounted on suitable casings 4, so as to be interchangeable and thereby admit of their being taken off and others put inttheirplaces when it is desired to change the rosters on a car so that they may be operated on various lines.

Arranged adjacent to each of the street names 3 on the rosters 2 are pointers or indicators 5, which are adapted to be actuated by the operation of push-buttons adjacent to the rosters 2, as will be later described, to point out or indicate any one or number of street names 3 on the rosters,

2. The means here shown for actuating the indicators 5 consists of electromagnets 6, which, when energized, attract springpressed pawls 7, normally engaged with pins 8 on the indicators 5 to release the pins 8 and allow the indicators 0 to drop bygravity or by spring action from an up wardly inclined position to a horizontal position, in which latter position they point toward the street names 3 opposite thereto.

The electromagnets G are each connected at one of their terminals to a conductor a,

leading from one pole of a battery 6, or

other suitable source of electrical energy. The other terminals of the elcctromagnets 6 connect with conductors a leading from each magnet 6 adjacent to one of the rosters contact member 6, connectingswith a conductor f leading from the other pole of the battery 6, is thrown in contact with any one of the contact members d on a certain conductor c, the two magnets 6, connected to the terminal of thelatter, will be energized.

An important feature of this invention resides in providing a single contact memher 6 for each series of contact members d 1 adjacent to the roster 2, and in providing means by which the contact 6 may be thrown in or out -of connection with any one of the contact members 03 of its corresponding series as a means for obviating the use of separate contact members 0 and push-buttons therefor for each contact member d; This means is here shown as consisting of an internally threaded sleeve 9 mounted on a vertically disposed threaded shaft 10 and carrying the contact member 6.

A threaded shaft 10 and sleeve 9 thereon is provided for each contact member 6 and series of contact members (1, the threaded shafts 10 being disposed adjacent to the contact members all in such a manner that when the sleeve 9 thereon is moved in a vertical direction, the contact member 6 carried on the sleeve 9 will wipe across the faces of .the contact members cl. Carried on each of the sleeves 9 is a push-button switch 11', which normally breaks the circuit through the conductor 7 to the wiper contact members e,-'it being necessary to press the pushbutton ii in order to complete a circuit fronr battery I) through the conductor f, wiper contact 6, contact member d, conductor 0, magnets 6 and conductor a. The shafts 10 are revolubly mounted in suitable bearings so as to rotate when the sleeves 9 are moved up and down thereon. Brackets 12 on the sleeves 9, carrying the push-buttons 11, ex-

tend through vertical guide slots 13 formed in the roster-carrying casings or frames 4 and prevent the sleeves 9 from rotating.

Means are provided for retarding the rotation of the shafts 10 to prevent the sleeves 9 from gravitating downwardly thereon This means is here shown as consisting of disks ll, mounted on the upper ends of the shafts 10, against which spring members 15 bear with sufficient pressure ,to counteract the tendency of shafts to rotate due to the weight of the sleeves 9 thereon. If desired the outer peripheries oft-he disks 14: may be serrated, and into which serrations V-shaped teeth on the spring members 15 extend.

In the operation of the portion of the invention previously described whem a passenger desires to indicate to the motorman and conductor the street at which he wishes to leave the car, he moves a sleeve 9 on one of the rods 10 to a point opposite the name 3 of the desired street; a pointer 16 carried by the sleeve 9 eXtending over the roster 2. The push-button 11 on the sleeve is then depressed to cause a current to flow from the battery I) through the electromagnets 6, positioned opposite to the name 3 on the roster 2' corresponding to the name of the street selected on the roster 2 to energize the pair of magnets on the conductor 0, as before described. The magnets 6 on being energized move the pawls 7 out of engagement with the pins 8, thereby allowing the indicators 5 to drop to their horizontal position, in which position they remain until restored at the end of the line by the operation of a pushrod 16 in the manner common'in annunciators. The indicators 5' on the annunciators may be restored singlyby turning them back by hand sufficiently far to cause the pins 8 to be rengaged by the, pawls 7. As a means for denoting to the operator of a push-button 11 when the indicator 5 has been operated, a contact member g, connected to a conductor 71, leading. from the positive pole ef a generator 2', is mounted to move with the indicator 5. In this case the contact member 9 is shown as carried on a shaft 5' on which the indicator 5 is rigidly mounted; the shaft 5 rocking with the indicator 5; A contact member j, connected to a conductor is leading to the negative pole of the generator 2 is disposed in such position that, when the indicator 5 has dropped to the horizontal or indicating position, the contact member 9 will be connected therewith so as to form an electrical connection at this point between the conductors 72- and 70. Disposed on the conductor in, adjacent to each street n me 3 on a roster 2, is an incandescent lamp 17, and disposed on the conductor 7c above each roster 2 is an incandescent lamp 18; the lamps 17 and 18 being lighted when a current is caused to flow from the generator 2' through it and 7c.

This circuit is normally broken byxmeans members Z and m, and the contact members 25 (j and j,- the lamps 17 and 18 remaining lighted during the time inwhich the pushbutton 11 is depressed.

When the push button 11 is released, the generator circuit will be broken by the separating of the switch members Z and m, thereby cutting off the lights 17 and 18. The lights 18 are so arranged on the conductor 7c, in relation to the generator '5, that when the push button 11, adjacent to any one of the rosters 2 is depressed, only the lamp 18 adjacent to that particular roster 2 will be lighted. The lamps 17, however, light whenever any one of the push-buttons 11 are operated. By this arrangement a light 17 will be caused to flash upon the dropping of each annunciator 5; the light 17 flashing whenever a push-button 11 is operated during the time an indicator 5 remains in its horizontal position.

As a means for indicating to the passenger when a certain street or station has been reached, a series of incandescent lamps 19 is provided; a lamp 19 being positioned adjacent to each street name 3 on the rosters 2. The lamps 19 are connected to the negative pole of the generator 2' through a conductor n and to the positive pole of the generator through a conductor 0. In this case the conductor 11, is shown as connected to the conductor is and the conductor 0 as connected to the conductor it. i

" Arranged'adjacent to the street names 3 on the rosters 2 are push-buttons 20 which are adapted to operate switch members p and g on the conductors 0. When it is desired to signify the arrival of a car at a certain street or station, a push-button 20 adjacent to the name 3 of that particular street or station on the roster 2 is depressed, thereby completing the circuit through the conductors 0 and n from the generator 11 through the lamps 19 arranged adjacent to the corresponding street names 3 on the roster 2 and causing the lamps to li ht. The lamps 19 are so arranged that when any push-button 20 is depressed-asingle light on each roster 2, corresponding to the position of the push-button 20 adjacent to the roster 2', will be lighted.

By the use of this invention any passenger on a car or train can signal to the conductor and motorman the street or station at which he desires to get off by moving the sleeve 9 on any one of the shafts 10 to a point where the pointer-16 will coincide with the name 3 of the desired street or station and then depressing the pushbutton 11; the light 18 flashing to denote when the indicator 5 has dropped to the signaling position. A motorman can thus be .constantly informed as to where the passengers desire to alight, and can in turn signal to the passengers when a certain stop is to be made by pressing a push-button 20 opposite the name of the stop on his annunciator to cause a light to flash opposite to the corresponding name on the passengers roster.

It is manifest that any number of the other switch member.

annunciators and passengers signaling devices may be employcd in one apparatus as may be desired; the various corresponding parts being electrically connected in series so as to operate simultaneously, and it is apparent that the apparatus is applicable to other uses than that described, as the nature of the signals may be varied by changing the rosters.

In order to enable persons to signal the car operators to stop at the next street or station, a push-button switch 21 .is provided for each roster 2 which is adapted to close a circuit to operate a call-bell 22 adjacent to the motorman and conductor. The ordinary bell circuit is employed for operating the call-bell 22; the conductor a leading to one contact member of each switch 21 and the'conductor f connecting with the p The bells 22 are here shown as disposed on the conductor f in-such a manner that when any one of the switches '21is closed a circuit will be completed from the battery I) over the conductors a and f to cause the bells 22 to ring.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In' a signal apparatus, the combination of a plate carrying a series of names of streets or other data, a contact member adjacent to each name on the plate, a revoluble worm shaft near the series of contact members, an internally threaded sleeve on the shaft, and a wiper contact member carried on. the sleeve and-arranged to be moved into contact with any one of the contact members in the series by reciprocating the sleeve on the shaft.

2. In a signal apparatus, thecombination of a plate carrying 'a series of names of streets or otherdata, a contact member ad jacent to each name on the plate, a revolu blelworm shaft near the series of contact .members,'an internally threaded sleeve on the shaft, a wiper contact member carried on the sleeve and arranged to be moved into contact with any'one of the contact members in the series by reciprocating the sleeve on the shaft, a switch carried by .the sleeve for controlling the flow of electrical current 7 through the wiper and the contact members,

an annunciator, and means whereby the closing of the switch will actuate the annunciator.

3. In a signal apparatus, the combination of a plate carrying a series of names of streets or other data, a contact member adjacent to each name on the plate, a revoluble worm shaft near the series of contact members, an internallv threaded sleeve on the shaft, :1 wiper contact member carried on the sleeve and arranged to be moved into contact with any one of the contact members in the series by reciprocating the sleeve v switch will operate an indicator to on the shaft, a switch carried by the sleeve for'controllino' the flow of electrical current through the wiper and the contact members, an annunciator, means whereby the closing of the switch will'actuate the annunciator, and means controlled by the switch for auto matically indicating to the switch operator when the annunciator has been operated.

4. In a signal apparatus for street-cars and the like, the combination with a roster of streets or stations in the passengers apartment and a similar roster near the motorman, of an indicator near each name on the last named roster, a contact member adjacent to each name on the first named roster, a wiper contact movable into electrical engagement with any one of said contact members, a switch controlling the flow of electrical. current through said wiper and contact members, means whereby the closing of the point out a name on the moto-rmans roster corresponding to the name opposite the wiper and the contact with any one of the Contact members passengers roster, an incandescent lamp adjacent each name on the passenger roster,

' and switches on the motormans roster con the last named roster,

trolling a current for lighting said lamps, whereby the passengers may be signaled when the car reaches any of the stops named onthe rosters.

5. In a signal apparatus for street-cars and the like, the combination'with a roster of streets of stations in the passengers apartment and asimilar roster near the motorman, of an indicator near eachname on a contact member adjacent to each name on the first named roster, a wiper contact movable into electrical engagement with any one of said contact members, a switch controlling the flow of electrical current through said wiper and contact members, means whereby the closing of the switch will operate an indicator to point out a name on the motormans roster corresponding to the name. opposite the wiper and the contact member contacted thereby on the passengers roster, means controlled by the switch for denoting to the oporator thereof when the indicator has been operated, and means controlled from the motormans station for indicating on the passengers roster when the car reaches any of the stops indicated on the roster.

6. In a signal apparatus for street-cars and the like, the combination with a roster of streets or stations in the passengers apartment and a similar rosteg near the motorman, of an indicator nearIeach name on the last named roster, a COIltai't member adjacent to each name on the first named ros ter, a wiper contact movable into electrical engagement with any one of said contact members, a switch controlling the flow of electrical current through said wiper and contact members, means whereby the closing of the switch will operate an indicator to 'ioint out a name on the motormans roster corresponding to the name opposite the wiper and the contact member contacted thereby on the passengers roster, means controlled by the switch for denoting to the operator thereof when the indicator has been operated, incandescent lampsadjacent to the rent for lighting said lamps whereby the passengers may be signaled when the car reaches any of the stops indicated on the roster.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN H. HERRING, IRVINE SINNETT. 

